the REATARDS "Monster Child" (Zaxxon Virile Action 7in) I'm sure everyone who looks at this site has at least heard about the recent drama surrounding the Lost Sounds somewhere on the internet by now. Apparently the band is calling it day and on to persue other projects. Maybe Jay's first order of business is to get every inch of unreleased tape by the Reatards released by a smattering of labels with a handful of newer recordings to sweeten the deal. Only time will tell whether it'll be a blessing or a curse but I ain't complaining when something like this is revolving on my turntable. Some older recordings and some of more recent vintage but I don't think many will be able to tell which is which. Both sides are cranked up conniption fits that would fit right in with the stuff on "Grown Up, Fucked Up". (Zaxxon Virile Action) dm

Reatards "Monster Child" 7"Publicized as two new and two old tunes from Jay Jay, I really have no background info on these songs, when they're actually from, or who is playing on 'em. Of the new ones, "I Will Die Alone" sounds like something written for the Lost SOunds, but played without the keyboards, and "Monster Child" has some nice hooks and healthy dose of self-destruction/loathing. The older tunes are more in line with the feel of 'Teenage Hate', icluding a different take of "Tell A Lie On Me". For those whose appetites were not sated by Bedroom Disasters, this one's for you. Probably the least essential of all Reatards records, which means it's still better than most of the crap out there. Just a little bit less than the greatness this band was/is capable of. Another single from the 'Tards is soon to be released on Shattered Records, along with another album of outtakes, plus a brand new full length. Scum stats: First press was 500 on black vinyl. Already sold out. Second press is 500 on red vinyl. There were some test presses being sold on eBay as well, which went in the $70 range before this thing was released. Reatarded.(RK)

I hate Jay Reatard. Don't get me wrong, it's nothing personal. I don't think we've ever exchanged more than a few words after a show one time, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. No, my anger towards Jay stems merely from the fact that he makes me feel like a total pud. When I was sixteen years old my days were filled with unsuccessful bids to get ugly girls to sleep with me, sitting around drinking Coke with my friends, reading MRR, playing Motley Crue's 'Crue Ball' on my Sega Genesis, jerking to the cover of that Elastica LP (hey, I hadn't heard the Wongs tune that would later teach me the proper object of record cover inspired onanisim), and filming the action-figure motion picture epic "Star Wars Episode Nine: The Revenge of Dark Lando" (get it, cause Lando's BLACK he joined the DARK SIDE. How did I ever end up getting laid again?). I also played guitar (and I use the term "play" in the loosest possible sense) in a basement noise band called "Dictaphone Nation." Among our best efforts were tunes like "The Pirate Song", "Ganja Man", and a cover of Iggy's 80s smash "Butt Town." Contrast this to Jay Reatard, who at the same age was writing and recording tunes like "Teenage Hate" that people are still going to remember twenty years from now. As if this wasn't bad enough, it turns out the 'Tards previous singles and two LPs weren't the sum total of Jay's underage recorded output. Despite the fact though these tunes have sat in a box somewhere for the past six years or so, this record doesn't sound at all like leftovers or outtakes. The three unreleased tunes on this single are all fucking great, and the alternate take of "Tell a Lie On Me" only further serves to illustrate what a rock n roll savant 'ol Jay Jay really is. And get this: supposedly there are two more singles and an LP's worth of unreleased Reatards material coming out this year!!! Man, I hate Jay Reatard. Then again, with records as great as this, being made to feel like a loser never felt so good.(SS)